You Can Watch John Malkovich Play a Bombastic Mentalist in One of His Most Underrated Movies for Free (2025)

I mean the following statement as a 100% compliment: the thing that makes John Malkovich such a great actor is that his characters always seem a little deranged. Not deranged in a dangerous and sociopathic way, but in a way where he can seem to be possessed by a mad persuasion about anything his characters say, no matter how outlandish it may be. He's used that short-tempered conviction to play so many great villains, like in Dangerous Liaisons and Con Air. However, one of his best roles saw him use it to play a relatively more genteel and benevolent figure, as the title character of The Great Buck Howard, a tribute to the mentalist profession produced by (and featuring) America's kindest movie magician, Tom Hanks.

What Is 'The Great Buck Howard' About?

Troy (Colin Hanks) is in need of direction, which means he needs a job, and he's desperate not to be a lawyer like his dad (Tom Hanks) wants him to be. He latches onto a job as a personal assistant for Buck Howard (Malkovich) — a potentially washed up mentalist — despite Troy having no initial affinity for mentalism. Howard seems like a has-been, but he still tours around the country, relishing the chance to play in smaller venues while still dreaming of playing in the big rooms in Vegas. Troy gradually becomes intrigued by Howard's shtick, pulled in by the inherent mystery of how much of Howard and his act is total malarkey and how much of it is genuine magic. There are other things that happen throughout, as this is meant to be a coming-of-age tale for a near 30-year-old man, which includes a throwaway love interest courtesy of a vastly overqualified Emily Blunt, but none of it is as interesting as when it hones in on the mercurial matter-meets-anti-matter charm of Howard. This gives Malkovich room to chew the scenery and let him fill in the details of a broad character, turning him into a true artist of a very niche craft.

Buck Howard Is One of John Malkovich's Most Fun Creations

The fun with Malkovich's performance is that, for all his bluster and delusion about how big of a star he is, he really does sound like he knows what he's talking about and truly loves what he does. So many things about him seem forced and unnatural, like his aggressive handshakes, his primadonna temper, and his name-dropping of being one of Johnny Carson's favorite guests, and yet it's too mannered to come off as fully pathetic. However, even if he's technically lying to himself, he's so earnestly bought into what he's selling that it comes back around to being the truth in a way that's endearing.

The film never really figures out what about Howard is real and what's artificial, but Malkovich's performance brings an integrity and intellectual fervor that implies there's a method to his flavor of madness. He may never reveal how his tricks work, but it feels like underneath his insecurity is someone who knows he has found his calling card in life and is happy to keep playing it. His life may seem like a joke to someone who doesn't get the thrill of pleasing a paying audience, but Malkovich makes it clear how much Howard is willingly in on his own joke. It's a joke that might not make people around him laugh, but it makes for some of the most easily pleasurable acting of John Malkovich's career.

John Malkovich's Buck Howard Is Based On a Real Mentalist

Part of the charm of the film comes from how accurate its depiction of the mentalist subculture feels, like it isn't just taking potshots at a potentially silly way of life. That may be because the film is loosely inspired by real life, as its writer-director, Sean McGinly, based the film on his experiences being an assistant for a mentalist named the Amazing Kreskin. Many of Howard's claims to fame and "tricks" are things that Kreskin got himself famous for, like guessing which audience member is holding his paycheck and going on Johnny Carson's show so many times. He was so good at his signature paycheck trick that he did it over 6,000 times and only failed it 12 times.

Whether Malkovich based any of his performance off of the real Kreskin is up for debate, but it's simply too John Malkovich-ian in his barely-contained rage at not being recognized for his genius to be fully based on anyone else. While that rage has usually made Malkovich an enigmatic and malevolent force on screen, this time it made him an unexpectedly jovial hack who could be impervious to the slings and arrows of the public telling him how little he's cared about. This shouldn't be surprising, because anyone who's seen Being John Malkovich would know that you can't keep a good Malkovich down.

The Great Buck Howard is available to watch on Tubi in the U.S.

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The Great Buck Howard

PG

Comedy

Release Date

January 18, 2008

Director

Sean McGinly

Cast

John Malkovich, Emily Blunt, Steve Zahn, Tom Hanks, Colin Hanks, Patrick Fischler, Ricky Jay, Griffin Dunne, Debra Monk, Adam Scott, Wallace Langham, Jonathan Ames, Jon Stewart, Kelly Ripa, Jacquie Barnbrook, Casey Wilson, Stacey Travis, Dale Waddington, Jay Leno, Conan O'Brien, Gary Coleman, Michael Winslow, Jack Carter, Martha Stewart, Regis Philbin

Runtime

87 minutes